Williams sharing her love of books with new venture

Newton bibliophiles should be aware that there is new business in town eager to quench their thirst for the written word. Timeless Stories is the latest local bookstore to join the ranks. It quietly opened in May, but owner Michele Williams has grand plans for her new venture.

“We have a sitting area where (people) can come and sit and read, and we are hoping to add like a little coffee bar later,” Williams said. “It will be free coffee. You can have a cup while you’re here and sit and read.”

“My husband does book repair,” Williams continued. “We are going to set up his workshop over in the corner where people can come in and watch him repair the books. The old 1700s, 1800s books — he will sit over there and repair them and people can watch or bring in their books for repair.”

A unique aspect of the store is that they specialize in vintage, rare and hard-to-find books.

“We sell the whole gamut,” Williams said. “We have children’s books, new books, books from the ’50s and ’60s, current books and the fiction books that are currently popular. But our passion is more with the vintage and rare.”

Timeless Stories will even attempt to locate hard-to-find books by request.

Williams and her husband are self-proclaimed hardcore book readers and over the years each has amassed a tremendous collection.

“I’ve loved books since I was a little girl and I’ve always had lots of books,” Williams said. “My husband and I collect old books – 1700s, 1800s and that kind of stuff. Our collection got out of control and we ran out of space, and my lifelong dream was to always own a bookstore.”

“When I was a kid, bookstores were much more popular than they are now,” Williams said. “But I’ve always wanted to own one and my husband said, ‘Let’s just do it.’ So he came home one day and surprised me and said, ‘I rented you a space.’”

Williams said since her husband’s surprise a month and a half ago, they began work immediately to get the store ready for business.

“We are still not done, we’re getting custom shelving put in,” Williams said. “We had to re-paint, bought bookshelves and are having some made, but we still have inventory everywhere. In our house, in our garage, in my husband’s (other) business. I don’t think it’s ever an ending process because we are still working on it.”

Williams is aiming to create an experience for customers who enter her store. The store boasts a relaxed vibe and a record player is available for use. Customers can play records or bring in a few from their personal collection to spin.

Timeless Stories also offers something that many of their competitors most likely do not.

“We have a magazine rack in here and all the magazines are free,” Williams said. “They are previously-read magazines, and if people want to bring a magazine and leave it for others they can, and come get any of them off that rack and take them with them to read.”

In addition, Williams wants to have children’s literacy activities and books signings at the store.

“I want to try to do something for the community and get kids reading,” she said.

Williams also said that a grand opening will happen soon, and it will entail a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Timeless Stories is located at 108 First Street N. on the east side of the square. Operating hours are Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The store may be contacted at (641) 792-0317 or chelebooks@live.com

Staff writer Ty Rushing may be contacted at (641)-792-3121, ext. 426, or at trushing@newtondailynews.com